Carter.   Susannah     - A fantastic copy of a cookbook in its original state.
The Frugal Housewife
OR, Complete Womans Cook. WHEREIN THE ART OF DRESSING ALL SORTS OF VIANDS WITH CLEANLINESS, DECENCY AND ELEGANCE, IS EXPLAINED IN FIVE HUNDRED APPROVED RECEIPTS IN Gravies, Sauces, Roasting, Boiling, Frying, Broiling, Syllabubs, Creams, Flummery, Jellies, Giams, and Custards, TOGETHER WITH THE BEST METHODS OF Potting, Collaring, Preserving, Drying, Candying, Pickling, AND MAKING OF ENGLISH WINES; TO WHICH ARE ADDED TWELVE NEW PRINTS, Exibiting a proper Arangement of Dinners, Two Courses for every Month in the Year. WITH VARIOUS BILLS OF FARE. BY SUSANNAH CARTER, OF CLERKENWELL.LONDON: PRINTED FOR E. NEWBURY, THE CORNER OF ST. PAUL'S CHURCH-YARD 1795.
The 3rd London edition. 12mo. Frontispiece (a Copper plate of Trussing) Title page. 6p The Index. 4p A Bill of Fare. 1p [1] a Copper plate of Trussing. [1] 2-180. 12p Woodcuts of Table Settings. Original publishers blue newspaper binding. Pages pristine and most uncut. Edges untrimmed, as issued. Housed in a handsome modern half black leather clam-shell box with black cloth boards. Spine with raised bands, gilt lines and two bottle green labels with gilt lettering. A unique and rare copy.
- The first question that comes to mind when viewing this little book is, where has it been kept for over 200 years; to still be in this condition is wonderful. The original newspaper cover is quite delicate and a little faded and needs to be handled with care; hence the need to house it in the special clamshell box to protect it for the next 200 years. After buying a book, leather bindings had to be ordered from a binder and paid for separately. Not surprisingly publisher's and binder's establishments were often found in close proximity to each other. The 1st edition of Carter's cookery book was published, London, circa.1765. From the PRB&M Co. we learn "Although in its initial U.S. appearances, the Frugal Housewife was strictly oriented towards British cuisine and ingredients, it was later adapted and expanded for American housewives, and portions of the original publication directly formed the basis for the first American-authored cookbook: Amelia Simmons's American Cookery". The first American edition of The Frugal Housewife, printed without a date, was advertised by Edes & Gill in the Boston Gazette as “this day Published” on 2 March 1772. As an interesting side-note, Edes & Gill are best remembered as the most important printers in Boston during the American Revolution. In 1773, one year after publishing Carter's cookbook, they and their newspaper, the Boston Gazette, played a crucial role in sparking the Boston Tea Party.

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Antiquarian category
ref number: 10975